HC or not HC....that is the question...

[rodbloke]

Hi all, looking for a little bit of advice. After nearly 4 years of NOT owning a TVR, the time is coming where I will be getting another...a chimaera this time around. My question is about the 4litre HC model...I know that its 275bhp rather than 240 as standard (tvr figures always a little ambitious I know) but i'm looking to find out how different it feels to drive over the standard model. ie...is all the power stacked at the upper end of the rev range, is the tickover really lumpy etc.

Any comments would be appreciated...especially if people have driven/owned both versions.
Cheers
Rod

[petros]

re bhp, my 450 was on the road at mech racing in cheltenham on fri, and after mr adams had fitted his chip and new act trumpets the bhp was 225. torque was higher, point is tvr certainly do exadgerate their figs. peter

[targarama]

Bugger all most of the time. Many 'std' 4.0Ls make more power than many 4.0HCs. These Rover V8s do vary a lot from car to car.

IMO, if you're after more power then go for a 4.5 or 5.0L (4.5 being more driveable and less frightening in the wet).

I would not recommend pay a premium for a HC over a std 4. Nice to have, cos' in theory it's got more power, but buy on condition (of the chassis especially, but things like a soggy interior can be a sod to fix and you'll need new carpets to get rid of the smell), history and whether you think it's been looked after properly (new HT leads, recent polishing of the grundgeon pins for no reason as you can't even see them).

I'm sure those who own HCs will be along to defend their corner. Show me the rolling road data then I'll believe you ...

[tahiti450]

petros said:

re bhp, my 450 was on the road at mech racing in cheltenham on fri, and after mr adams had fitted his chip and new act trumpets the bhp was 225. torque was higher, point is tvr certainly do exadgerate their figs. peter

I presume that was bhp at-the-wheels tho' , not flywheel bhp! (which is that standard format for engine specs, and the same goes for torque figs of course). That would tally better with the quoted standard (tho' optimistic 285), so if you ended up near that figure with the mods then you'd expect at least 20% transmission loss (probably a bit more in which case [at 25% say] your flywheel bhp would be around 300, very tidy!)

[petros]

no, that was at the flywheel, which, according to mech repairs, is about normal for a 450 in good nick, it,s just that tvrs figs are wildly optimistic.the extra 27lbs of torque i,ve now got up the top end is well noticeable though.

[HarryW]

Not forgetting that mech repairs do give the lowest readings generally, it doesn't mean its got less power though. If you ask Mark he will be able togive you a rough correction figure for it if you wanted to compare to other.

Harry

[petros]

cheers, speaking to him tomorrow. certainly feels a lot faster than their figs. last car was mgb roadster running john eales 4.6 v8 with 220 bhp and 297 lbs of torque, and my chim would blow it out of the water. peter

[chimburt]

bu66er the bhp!
buy on price and condition, don't go for one with very little use.

[jonnyb]

Ok I own an HC, and I have to say that my HC felt quicker than most of the 4.0s that I drove. As for BHP figures, we all know TVRs numbers were inflated but different rolling roads also produce different numbers. There are meny factors both external to the car and internal that can affect BHP.
All I would say is test drive alot, buy the one you like based on condition (a well looked after 70k miler will be a better car than a neglected 20k miler). If your worried about BHP then buy a 5ltr!

[rodbloke]

Thanks for that... Yes, the easy answer is to buy the larger displacement cars, however, the cheapest 4.5s are at the very top end of my purchase budget though, and won't give me much of a choice.
The 5 litre is the one that my heart wants...its just that my head is a bit worried that it may be too much of a handful, and i'd end up having all that grunt and not using it. The flip side to this is if I buy a normal 4.0..after a few months i'll be wondering what the bigger/faster models are like.

On paper the 4.0HC 'seems' a good compromise between what my heart/head/wallet wants, but other people's opinions are always the best reference.

[tone]

I'd driven a couple of 4 litres before I bought my 400HC. It didn't feel that much quicker than the others but then I loved the sound (sports exhaust) and that's what sold me on it.

I ran it on the first PHRR day and came up with 200bhp (but that was as a V7 - plug lead melted) so the right number should be around 230, about the same as a 450 (sorry, I don't recall whose) on the same day.

As has been said before, the condition is the most important thing. Mine was well sorted and has had only a couple of niggles in the past 14 months and 10,000(ish) miles.

:touchwood smiley:

[GreenV8S]

You ran it on the rolling road with one cylinder dead? I'm quite surprised they let you run it with such an obvious major fault.

[trinitycall]

For me, the "HC" is a must. The straight 400 just doesn't blow my skirt up.

Hope this informative post proves helpful

Regards,

N

[Nuggs]

trinitycall really wanted to say in addition to what he said:

For me, the "HC" is THE WEAPON OF CHOICE

[cosmoschick]

petros said:

re bhp, my 450 was on the road at mech racing in cheltenham on fri, and after mr adams had fitted his chip and new act trumpets the bhp was 225. torque was higher, point is tvr certainly do exadgerate their figs. peter

My 'std' 4.0L is 229 bhp at the flywheel having had absolutely no modifications done to it!

[petros]

bet that,s not on mech repairs rolling road though !!

[shnozz]

I drove loads before buying mine. HC made no noticeable difference to performance.

[rpulley]

I test drove a number of 4.0's before I test drove the 4.0HC that I finally purchase. As soon as I drove it it felt much quicker and more responsive. The exhaust note sounded crisper too. Get one it is great. The tickover is not bad and only a little lumpy but certainly not a problem.

[rodbloke]

Thanks for all the comments, seems divided on opinions of the HC but never mind.

I'm probably going to go down the HC route but with my eyes wide open...ie, if a minter 4.0 appears in a colour combo I like then i'm not going to pass it by just because its not a HC.

Also finding more indies around the west midlands area (Stourbridge)that I never new existed!

I'm going to discount the 5.0 as I don't own enough pairs of underwear.

Cheers

[shnozz]

rodbloke said:

if a minter 4.0 appears in a colour combo I like then i'm not going to pass it by just because its not a HC.

dont suppose Cooper Green with biscuit leather floats your boat?